It Doesn't Make You Who You Are
by A Whisper Of Grace
Summary: Emma and Henry ask Hook to be a little more inconspicuous while in NYC and it ends in Emma and Hook sharing a moment. Based on spoilers for 3x12. Some angst, some fluff.


**AN: This was written quickly and is unedited so I'm sorry if there are mistakes. I'll come back and have a look over it later, I just wanted to get it up. This was going to just be a drabble for Tumblr but turned out longer than I thought, so I figured I'd post it on here as well.**

They had been driving all day, and the sun was just beginning to set when Emma pulled into the motel's car park, choosing at random. They didn't need anything fancy, just beds and a shower, and she wasn't sure how long they'd need to stay in New York and wanted to keep the budget as low as possible. Rolling her shoulders to try and ease some of the stiffness in them, she twisted in her seat to wake Henry.

The kid was already awake though, and craning his head to try and see the motel's sign. 'Do you think they'll have a pool?'

Clearly he had different priorities than she did. 'I hadn't really thought about it,' she said dryly. Henry grinned up at her unapologetically.

Turning back the right way in her seat, Emma unclipped her seatbelt and glanced over at Hook, who sat beside her in the passenger seat. He smiled at her companionably but it wasn't that which gave her pause - although it usually did, more than she'd let him know - but the shiny metal at his left wrist.

He'd never acted like he thought that his missing hand was something to be ashamed of, but some people could be pretty touchy about missing body parts, and she really didn't want to offend him. She bit her lip, looking at him hesitantly.

Hook rose his eyebrow at her. 'What is it, love?'

'It might be a good idea to keep your hook in your pocket until we get a room,' she said carefully, knowing the futility of her words as soon as they came out. Getting to a room was all well and good, but the whole reason why he came with her was so that she wouldn't have to do the mission herself, and avoiding notice now wouldn't help them if they just attracted it later. She couldn't really ask him to keep his hook in his pocket the whole time they were here.

Instead of being offended, his face relaxed and he smiled again. 'I understand the need to be inconspicuous. And I am rather remarkable, wouldn't you say?' He sneaked a wink at her, smirking slightly, before he turned to Henry in the back seat. 'Lad, would you mind handing me my satchel?'

Emma eyed the bag carefully as Henry picked it up from the seat and gave it to the pirate. They'd been pressed for time when they left Storybrooke but Hook had requested time to fetch something from his ship, and she hadn't thought to ask what he'd needed. Now, he pulled out a fake hand attachment with a black glove. Twisting his hook, it came out of the brace rather easily and he replaced it with the gloved hand. 'See, love,' he said, nodding in her direction, 'I'm just full of surprises.'

She gave him her best deadpan look. Part of her wished that he'd stop flirting with her in front of Henry, but at least he wasn't being _that_ obvious about it. Henry hadn't seemed to notice, anyway. 'Yeah, because the full body black leather is so inconspicuous,' she muttered, turning away from him to open her door and climb out of the car.

She managed to convince Henry and Hook to wait patiently a few metres away while she organised a room for them - she certainly didn't need Hook attempting to talk to the receptionist and saying god knows what. When she got the room key she led them to the elevator.

'Why are we getting into a box?' Hook asked quietly, looking around the elevator as the doors closed as though expecting to find another corridor or something. Emma and Henry exchanged a smirk, neither of them commenting until the elevator starting moving, and then neither of them could stop themselves from laughing when he jumped and cursed as they started to go up.

The laughter fell from her face when the doors opened and he walked out rather quickly, his face rather blank and his jaw set. She hadn't really thought about it, but now that she did she figured that he probably wasn't the type to enjoy being the butt of a joke, especially when it was regarding his own ignorance.

She found their room and let them inside, closing the door behind them and flicking the lights on. There were two single beds and a sofa, and Hook dropped his satchel on the couch, taking a seat and claiming his spot without being asked to. Henry dumped his bag on one of the beds and then began wondering around the room, while Emma perched herself on the edge of the other, trying to think of something to say.

'What's your real name, Captain?' Henry asked after a minute, still looking around.

Emma's eyes darted to Hook quickly. Was this a safer subject? He'd introduced himself to her with his proper name, but hadn't heard it be used since, and she figured that there was a reason for that.

His eyes met hers for the briefest second before he turned his head to watch Henry's back. 'Why do you ask, lad?' he asked quietly.

'Because you obviously weren't born with the name Hook,' Henry said, coming back to sit on the bed next to Emma.

Hook paused for a few seconds before dropping his gaze to his fake hand, fiddling with it. 'My name is Killian, lad. Killian Jones.'

Henry cocked his head, studying the pirate closely. Emma looked between the two of them carefully. Hook didn't sound angry or annoyed, but there was a touch of something that she couldn't quite place in his tone.

'I think we should call you Killian while we're here,' Emma said, the words slipped out unintended. His eyes darted up to drill into her, and she swallowed, seeing what she hadn't before - uncertainty. Taking a deep breath, she pushed on, hoping that this wouldn't backfire for her. 'It doesn't make sense for us to call you Hook when you're not wearing one. It wouldn't be very inconspicuous,' she added.

'That's what I thought,' Henry said.

Hook looked between them, his face full of so many mixed emotions that she didn't really know what to do with them. Eventually he let his fake hand drop into his lap. 'All right,' he said softly.

Satisfied, Henry moved to the other bed and flicked the TV on with the remote, surfing through channels until he found something that he wanted to watch. Emma couldn't pay attention, her eyes constantly moving to watch Hook. He'd leaned back on the couch but wasn't watching the TV either, despite how strange Emma was sure it would seem to him. His eyes were back to his hand, staring at it like it could give him answers.

To what, she didn't know.

But she found that she wanted to.

Standing up, she went to pick the room keys up from the table that she'd tossed them onto. 'Henry, I'm going to suss out the pizza place that was on the corner, I'll bring something back for us to eat.' She turned to Hook, whose eyes had lifted to her without moving his head. 'I suppose you don't know what pizza is, do you KIllian?' she asked, hoping he wouldn't take it as another slash at his ignorance.

He looked at her, his expression unreadable. 'No.'

'Then you had better come too,' she said firmly, her tone leaving no room for argument. 'So you can see what they have and we can get something that you'll like too.'

She stepped up to him, holding out her hand, which he just stared at for a second. She huffed impatiently and he took it, letting her pull him to his feet. His hand felt warm in hers, and she was a little disappointed when he let it go as soon as he was upright. 'You'll be all right for a few minutes, kid?'

'Yep,' he said absentmindedly, not taking his eyes from the screen.

Feeling a combination of affection and exasperation that she now knew came with being a mother, she moved to stand in front of the TV. When he tried to crane his neck to see around her she just moved with it, until he looked up at her, grinning sheepishly.

'Stay here,' she said seriously. 'I'm taking the keys, so don't open the door if anybody knocks. Don't open it for anyone. If anything happens call me with the room's phone, okay, kid?'

Henry rolled his eyes at her and she wondered briefly if that was what she looked like when she did that. 'I'll be fine, Mom. As long as you bring me back some pepperoni,' he added cheekily.

Suppressing the urge to roll her own eyes, she nodded her head toward the door and led Hook out of the room, making sure to lock the door and test it before they started off down the hallway. She didn't really think anyone would come to the room, but she'd learnt very quickly that her life was more dangerous than she'd thought since finding out about the original curse, and her regular trust issues on top of that only made her more cautious.

This time when they got into the elevator Hook stood near the rear, planting his feet firmly. He barely moved when the elevator started to go down, and she smiled despite herself. _He's just as stubborn as I am._

He was still fiddling with his fake hand, and she reached out and wrapped her fingers around his real one, drawing it away from him. He looked at her curiously, eyebrow raised. 'Sorry about Henry,' she said, not really sure if she needed to apologise but knowing that something wasn't right with him and she had a feeling it had to do with what Henry had said. 'He's just trying to be helpful.'

'It's not a worry, lass,' he said quietly, but he sounded strained. 'He's right. Killian will stand out less than Hook will, anyway. And I'd change my clothes for you too, but I've none others to wear.'

Emma studied him thoughtfully. 'I can buy you some if you like, but we don't have to worry about that today.'

He just nodded, looking down at their hands. He started to pull away but she tightened her grip, adjusting it so that she held it more comfortably. After a moment his grip firmed as well, his thumb brushing across the back of her hand, and she wasn't really surprised anymore at how nice it felt.

The elevator stopped moving and the doors opened, but they didn't get out. 'Does it bother you to wear that hand?' she asked him, wanting to find out just what had closed him off.

His eyes slowly raised to meet hers, and she tried to keep them as open as possible. It was difficult, but somehow it was getting easier with him. She wanted to tell him that it didn't bother her either way what he had there, and she hoped that he could read that from her. 'It's not who I am anymore,' he said eventually, his brow furrowing. 'I've been Hook for so long, and I've worn the hook for so long, that I don't feel like myself without it.'

She wasn't sure whether he'd been referring to the name or the appendage, but she had a feeling that his words were true for both. 'I don't think that what name you go by, or what attachment you wear here, makes you who you are,' she said, taking his fake hand in her other one and turning so they faced each other squarely. 'I think that you've been more Killian than Hook lately. And regardless of which part of yourself that you feel more at home with, I'm grateful for all of you. I couldn't have gotten my son back without you, and I'm really glad you're here with us now.'

They were close, now, only inches between them, and Emma thought that maybe she should just lean forward and kiss him. She wanted to. Ever since that first time in Neverland she'd thought about it more than she would admit. His eyes flickered toward her lips and he bent his head down toward hers. She closed her eyes and held her breath.

The elevator doors started to close and she jumped in surprise, sticking an arm out automatically to keep the doors open. One of the floor lights had lit up, signalling someone else needing the elevator, and Emma realised that they'd been standing on the ground floor for a few minutes now. Smiling wryly at Hook, she led him out of the elevator.

He said nothing as they walked through the quiet foyer but as soon as they were out on the busy street he pulled her to a side. Their hands were still entwined and he held them up between them, caressing the back of her hand with his thumb. 'Emma, love,' he said hesitantly, then he took a breath and seemed to centre himself. 'I'd like it if you called me Killian. Not just because we're trying to blend in, but because you make me feel like I could be him again.' He looked down at her earnestly, his eyes begging for her understanding. 'It's been a long time since I wanted to be him and not Hook.'

She reached up to place her hand against the side of his neck, running her thumb through the hair at the base of his neck. 'I think I can do that.' Leaning forward, she pulled his hand down gently and brushed her lips against his like she'd wanted to before. He responded immediately, moving his lips against hers just as softly, just as sweetly, the complete opposite to how their first kiss had been. She pulled away after a few seconds, enjoying the faint smile and surprise on his face.

'Come on, Killian. I _really_ want to introduce you to pizza.'

**Review?**


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